Shades of Grey
by Khamiraja
Summary: A mission from Kakashi's ANBU days is starting to resurface, bringing old enemies and allies with it.  But what does this mission have to do with the Akatsuki and Konoha so many years later? This is the story of the old and new demons of the Leaf Village.
1. Prologue

- Shades of Grey -

A new moon rests in the sky, not a cloud in sight. The people of Konoha sleep soundly with little worries or cares. The heat from the day seems to cool gradually as night continues to take the earth.

A lone ninja is briefly seen jumping silently from rooftop to rooftop. He arrives along side the Hokage's office, watchful for any late patrollers. With the area clear, the ninja leaps to the windows beside her office. He forms a few hand signs before he sinks into the ledge beneath his feet and reappears through the floor in the large, oval office.

Making his mission quick, he moves towards the desk, using the same hand signs to move his right hand through a locked drawer. He pulls out the file he was looking for, opening it to the first page:

ANBU FILES: Confidential

The ninja allows himself a small, mocking laugh as he flips it open towards the back of the file. "Perfect," he says aloud.

Mission: S-rank

Location: Amegakure

Team: Capt. Hatake, Kakashi; Uchiha, Itatchi; Rin.

Status: Complete

Report: Erased.

The ninja pulls the mission log from the file and shoves it unto his pouch. Replacing the file back into the drawer, he the prepares to leave. He detaches the ANBU mask tied to his hip and wraps it around his head before entering as he came. He leaps down to the streets below, falling in sync with the nightly ANBU patrol.

A small grin forms behind his hawk mask as he heads towards the village gates, "Soon, Hatake." He whispers, "then no one can save your jinchuriki."


	2. Forshadowing

Clouds started coming in over the horizon, bringing the chill of the morning mist with it. The stone filled with lost, forgotten names seemed to share the same mood of the earth. Gloomy. Towards the bottom of the stone, among the countless of fallen the dew from the morning mist seemed to pull towards a particular name.

_Fitting,_ he thought.

The white haired jonin stood with his hands in his pockets; head and shoulders slumped forward as a means of prayer and mourning. He knelt down towards the name on the stone, pulling his right hand free and using the tip of his finger to clear the name of dew residing there.

As the sun began to rise, the clouds rolled in further, keeping the morning chill against the earth. The jonin refused to shiver, but the goose bumps and wet clothes clinging to his skin told his body it was time to go. He closed his one, right eye for a moment of prayer before rising back up to his former position. The sun rises further bringing a bit more warmth to the world; quite and serene...

"Kakashi-sensei!" came the yell of the most unpredictable ninja of Konoha.

Kakashi let's out with a sigh before half smiling behind his mask. He lifts his right hand from his pocket once more in greeting, but doesn't turn from the stone. He brings his hand down to his side as the yellow haired adolescence approaches.

"Morning, Naruto." The jonin addresses him, gaze remaining on the stone.

"Kakashi-sensei," The genin says between breaths, "Grany Tsunade sent me to fetch for you; says it's of extreme importance."

Kakashi lets out a low groan in response before addressing him, "I'll be along soon." His eye remains focused forward before he turns towards the young man. He lifts his eye in his original, typical smile.

Naruto reaches out to drag his sensei back by force, as was his orders, before he locks eyes with the jonin. He withdraws his arm, seeing a very haggard and tired man before him. "Are you feeling alright, Kakashi-sensei? You look well, sick."

Kakashi let's out a small laugh to himself, "Thank you for the concern, but I'll be alright." He puts his right hand back into his pocket and hunches his shoulders forward in an attempt to keep his body heat in. _Damn, I'm getting old_, he thinks to himself.

A slight breeze begins to pick up as a storm is heard coming from over the horizon. Naruto glances towards the storm before bringing his attention back to his sensei. Naruto sighs, "Granny can wait then. Sensei, you know that with my sage form I can feel everything around me." He bites his lip a moment, as if trying to find the right words, "why do you seem so out of balance?" He tries to hide the bit of concern from his voice, "Granny is concerned too."

Kakashi's eye widens a bit at his students blatant observation. _Am I really losing my touch that much? _He sighs once more to himself, "Nothing to worry about, I assure..." As if on queue the sharingan in his left eye begins to pulse, causing a sharp pain and his chakra network to scramble. He grits his teeth, his left hand griping around the eye as he falls to a knee.

The voice of Uchiha Madara is then heard in his head; _Finally found you, Hatake._ Kakashi widens his right eye in reaction to the voice. _Glad to see you still remember me;_ the sharingan focuses on the stone, on a particular name. _This makes things much easier then_, the voice snickers. Kakashi's eye widens in realization of the voice. He tries to ask him a question before being interrupted; _Bring the child to Hidden Rain within 5 days, or do I need to use some aces from my sleeve?_

Kakashi tries to catch a breath as the pain intensifies, flooding images into his mind of other villages within the Akatsuki's path. Closing his right eye sharply, the pain slowly starts to lessen as the voice sounds farther away. "Wait..." he says out loud as the sharingan starts to focus on another name before Madara releases his hold.

Naruto's touch finally registers to Kakashi as the boy's words come into focus again. "Sensei, Sensei?" he says over and over, the worried tone now a prominent pitch. "What did you tell me to wait for, Sensei? Are you ok?" he pulls his hands away from the jonin's shoulders.

"Um, yeah, I'm... fine, Naruto." he lies, trying to regain his grip on reality. He rises back to his feet, a pounding headache ringing in his ears. He turns his attention, albeit confused, back to the genin, "Let's not keep the Hokage waiting then, shall we?" He tries to smile reassuringly with his eye but flinches slightly at the action.

Naruto turns his gaze to the on coming storm then back to his weary sensei. His concern changes to one of worry, almost fear; "I have a bad feeling, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi addresses the boy's statement by walking towards the Hokage's office. "Me to, Naruto," he whispers to himself.


	3. The Mission

Tsunade lowered the file in question down to her desk as she heard the familiar footsteps of two of Konoha's finest Shinobi. One of them walked softly, each step barely heard and carefully planned. The other…

"Granny Tsunade!" In came the voice of the other shinobi's footsteps as the door nearly flew from its hinges. She let out small laugh before regaining her composure.

"Where the Hell have you two been?" she yells, arms crossed over her breasts and a scowl that could scare even Ibiki himself.

Kakashi, entering slowly behind Naruto, places both hands up in an apologetic manner. "Sorry, Tsunade-hime, we got lost on the…"

"Save it, Kakashi," she replies, settling back into her chair. "Do you have any idea what this is?" she grabs the file she was holding moments ago, holding it up for everyone in the room to see.

Kakashi then looks around; noticing Shizune, Sakura, Sai and Yamato are also in the room. _Everyone else is ANBU, _he thinks to himself before letting out a sigh. Yamato shifts his feet uncomfortably noticing the folder Tsunade just presented. Kakashi then takes the hint after locking eyes with Yamato. He turns back towards the group, noticing the file is indeed, that file. "Naruto, Sakura; wait outside the door a moment if you would."

Naruto spins angerly towards the jonin, about to demand otherwise before locking eyes with his sensei. His eyes met with a cold, intent stare; he decided to use a more clam approach; "But, Kakashi-sensei…"

"I said now, Naruto." He started to shift his gaze over towards Sakura but she seemed to catch the message.

"Come on Naruto, I'm sure they'll call us back when we're needed."

"But what about Sai, and Yama…" he was quickly interrupted by Shizune dragging him by the ear towards the door with Sakura in tow. "Oww, owww!" he yelled as they exited the office, the pink haired medic shutting the door behind them.

All eyes were now on Tsunande. She glanced back at the remaining jonin; no, ANBU she corrected. They all held her eyes with cold, hard stares.

"What's happened?" Sai was the first to speak, breaking the silence and tension in the room. Everyone seemed to loosen a bit, all except for Kakashi who continued to stare at the file.

"Someone has broken into the file and stolen a mission's log. We have yet to find the culprit and have no leads as of ye… Hey?" she snapped as Kakashi snatched the file from her hands. _When the Hell did he get so close_, she thought. He turned his back towards her, casually leaning back on the desk as if he was reading one of his well-worn novels. Once again, his eye seemed to say otherwise.

"Where is it," he states rather than questions.

"Where's what, Kakashi," she said in a rather annoyed voice. She didn't like how easily he took the file from her grasp.

"You know damn well what!" he spun back around towards her, slamming the file down on the desk opened to where the mission log was kept. His eye stared intently into Tsunande's own eyes. She bit her lib slightly before responding.

"If I knew that," her voice returning to its normal, fiery self, "don't you think I'd have the next mission assigned to you already?" she finished, the sannin and the jonin now locking eyes with one another across the desk.

Sai piped up once more, opening a book before him; "Um, this book from the library says that if two people glare at each other for a certain period of time the will either engage in a fight to the death or begin laughing so hard that they may need mental metical assistance." He states this matter-of-factly looking towards Yamato with his innocent smile. Yamato just stares back and forth between the two and poor, poor Sai; he quickly steps away from the boy, shaking his head as he moves to the far wall.

The two ninja by the desk quickly snap their heads towards Sai; "Ah, this is the same look Sakura-chan and Ino-cha gave me when we first me…" Yamato silently motions for the boy to run as far as he can while trying not to make his presence known. Sai smiles innocently once more before Yamato rushes over towards the naïve shinobi, hooks his arm with his and quickly makes it for the door.

Kakashi regains his composure as the door closes behind them. Tsunande sits back into her seat feeling her years like a weight on her shoulders. "You too, ehh?" Kakashi says, slumping his shoulders a bit as his weary features start to reappear.

"Shut up, kid." Tsunande grumbles while reaching into the secret drawer of her desk and pulls out a bottle of sake with a small cup. She sets the bottle on the desk after filling the cup, motioning for the jonin to join her. He sighs, reaching for the bottle. They lift their drinks respectively, neither one saying a word for a few awkward moments. Tsunande clears her throat as if to gather someone's attention, "To the past and old memories."

"Fuck 'em."

They both downed their drink, neither one met the other's eyes. They were going to be here awhile.

-o-

A blond haired medic rounded the hallway towards the Hokage's office and stopped in her tracks just before the door. Here was Yamato, Shizune, Sakura, Sai and Naruto all facing the opposite direction with their right ears up against the door, all in the same order from top to bottom. The group was focusing so hard that they didn't hear her arrival.

"Whats going on?" she asks, placing a hand on her hip. All five shinobi fell to the floor in a massive tangle of limbs.

"Ow, watch it!" "Gah, that's my hair!" "Naruto! This is all your fault!" "Oh, like hell!" came the jumbled responses. Ino couldn't help but laugh at the group.

Just as she was about to move closer to help the group untangle, the door they were all leaning on came flying open. A furious Hatake came storming out of the doorway, stepping over the pile of shinobi as though they had been there since the village was first built.

"Hatake! Come back here!" yelled the sannin as she stopped at the door. She was greeted with his casual hand wave '_see ya' _motion as he continued marching down the hall. Fire fuming from her eyes, she turned back into her office, stomped towards her desk and slammed a chakra filled fist into the center. Splinters flew through out the room as the now six shinobi outside the door ducked for cover. "The rest of you…"

The group gulped as one, fear showing in all of their eyes. "Your mission is to bring Hatake back by any means necessary. The mission starts now." She snapped her head back to the group as they peak around the door. "Failure is not an option," she finished, her fist still pulsing with chakra.

Naruto sighs before placing his arms around medic ninjas beside him, "Glad I have you three on my team." The three females sigh in unison before breaking away from his embrace.


	4. Reasons

The sun was beginning to set over the beautiful horizon before him. A small, crystal clear lake within the depths of the forest was all that was seen for miles. The water seemed like glass as the earth almost stood still, quiet and calm. The man drew a breath, taking in the fresh air surrounding him.

He enjoyed moments like these, away from the busy streets of villages and conflicts people started. Grabbing a stone from beside him, he moved it between his fingers, back and forth. He studied the stone, wondering if such a rock was worthy of its purpose within his grasp.

Sighing to himself, he tossed the stone across the water. The stone skipped a few times, causing the stillness of the lake to ripple under each impact the farther out it went. As the stone's movements slowed, he watched it sink to the bottom as the last of the ripples skipped after the one prior.

The shinobi then glances around the area, listening for any noises that may have been stirred by his action. Being an S-class shinobi did that to you I guess. He listened for the smallest noise; no birds, insects or any living creature could be heard. _Ah, right, _he thought to himself, _they think I'm a predator; just like one of them. _

Relaxing a little more, the jonin laid his wrapped sword, Samehada beside him on the shore. "Hurry up, Itatchi," he said to no one in particular. _Figures he'd pick a place like this to meet; damn pacifist. _

As if summoned by hearing his name, Itatchi arrives into the clearing. Kisame turns his head towards him in acknowledgement, giving him a glare upon entering, not approving with his choice of attire. Itatchi shrugs towards his partner, removing his ANBU mask and tying it to the pouch on his hip. "Told you it'd come in handy," he says as he pulls a small pack off of his shoulders.

"Yes, but if one of our brothers saw you in that outfit, they might not hesitate to attack as I did," Kisame says with a grin. His pointed teeth seemed to give his facial expression a much more menacing look.

The Uchiha sighs to himself while setting his pack on the ground. "Well, at least you found this place alright." He kneels down, rummaging through the pack for a few moments before pulling out an all to familiar black cloak with red clouds. He unties the ANBU mask from his hip and shoves it into the bag before rising to his feet. "Now we can start the real mission," he says as he slides the robe over his right arm.

"This mission being one from our leader?" he asks, eyes narrowing a bit.

"Yes and no."

Kisame narrowed his eyes more dangerously, "Don't test me, Itatchi. You know better than most that I have no tolerance for games."

Fully robed, Itatchi walks over to his partner and sits beside him, legs crossed. He remains silent for a few moments, seeming to fidget subconsciously with a few twigs around his legs. He keeps a blank stare forward as he responds, "This mission, Kisame, is unknown to our brothers. You are the only one I can trust with what I'm about to share with you." Itatchi's body language changes, his fidgeting turning towards snapping the twigs in his lap. Whatever this mission was, it clearly was one that had the great Uchiha worked up.

Kisame studies his brother intently, watching every shift in his movements. He raises an eyebrow when his fidgeting changes to one of destruction. He sighs to himself, "Only because I've become quite fond of your company, Itatchi; that's the only reason I even care to listen to what you're offering."

Itatchi narrows his eyes at the surplus of twigs now lying at his feet, as if weighing his options. He closes his eyes a moment, retreating into his head for a form of clarity. His subconscious fidgeting continues, organizing the twigs with his skillful fingers. Opening his eyes again, he stares down at his handy work; a few of the twigs lying in a cross-stitch pattern on the ground before him. "This mission is for the good of the Akatsuki, I can assure you. It will move towards our original goal and speed up the process." He pauses, collecting his thoughts, "The only thing left is to find her."

Kisame never moves his focus from Itatchi when responding, "Who?"

His hand reaches into his back pouch as he pulls out the log he stole the night before. "Her," he replies after handing him the sheet. Kisame snatches the paper in front of him before he quickly but thoroughly scans the mission log.

"There's no report, just the names of…" He pauses after reading it over once more. His demeanor shifts uncomfortably as he sees the first name on the list. He continues over the list of names before turning his gaze over to the Uchiha. "What kind of mission was this, and why do we need to find a dead girl?"

Itatchi's eyes furrowed at his statement, "Who said anything about her being dead?"

Kisame's wicked toothed grin returned to his face, "I was seeing if she was dead; according to your reaction, she's alive." He locks eyes with his partner. "What are you not telling me?" Itatchi shows a brief moment of fear before recomposing himself within the same instant. Kisame being the predator that he was, he caught the slight fault of his emotion. His patience starts to grow thin as the night's chill begins to set in, "Well?"

The Uchiha sits there a moment, focusing on the twigs before him. He fidgets with them once more, building something else. "She was, very close to me;" he says with a trace of guilt in his voice, "and Hatake." He continues his project, giving him something to focus on.

Kisame shifts his eyes back out to the water a moment, deciding what to do or say. He turns back to his brother with a sigh, about to respond before the sound of Itatchi rising to his feet interrupts him. "I'm going to get more wood." Kisame raises an eyebrow; about to ask why when Itatchi's hands move in a flash of signs before the famous Uchiha Great Fireball technique is released. Targeting the twigs before him, the structure turns in a pillar of flames before settling down to a cozy campfire.

Itatchi turns away from the fire in search of more fuel for the fire. Kisame just shakes his head with a smile; _that damned Uchiha, everything he does has some reason behind his actions. _He laughs heartily to himself.

-o-

Tsunade sits at her new, smaller desk in her oval office. Untouched drink in her left hand states that she's deep in thought about something; something important. She stares down at file before her; the same file that caused one of her best jonin to storm out of her office in a rage just earlier that day. Sighing at the memory, she leans back into her chair and turns towards the window overseeing the village.

Night has settled among the village streets as watches the lights go out one by one, signaling the many shop keepers returning home for the evening. She watches a few jonin casually chatting with one another returning to their beds for the night or maybe starting the next guard shift. A small family walks down another street, a young girl being swung in the middle of her parent's protective hands. They all seem to be happy.

She closes her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose with her right hand. She recounts over the day's events, moving her right fingers to her lips as she nips at her thumbnail and opens her eyes again.

_Damn it, Tsunade; you know better than I do what that log meant! _Kakashi's out lash in emotions had definitely taken her off guard.

_Of course I do, Hatake. That's exactly why I called you here to discuss it! I need some answers just as much as you do! Now get a hold of yourself already and start acting like an adult about this and think this through! _ Ok, maybe that did come out a bit harsh, but she had to admit to herself, it got the point across.

She watched the jonin narrow his eye, his inner conflict to snap or obey hidden by his mask, but written all over his eye. He took a deep breath before speaking, _Who or why would anyone need to know about that mission. Who else had access to this other than the Third? _

She could hear the desperation in his voice, the confusion and old wounds it reopened. She couldn't blame him, with how much this man had been through with his career as a shinobi, it was amazing that he kept his cool even now. _Only Danzo, the elders, the Third and myself knew about this, Kakashi. The only others would have been R…_

_Don't you dare say her name, _he snapped back, interrupting her with a dangerous look in his eye.

Tsunade sighed; _Well, then that leaves…_

_Itatchi. _The way he said the name sent a chill up her spine. Like a wolf confirming it's target for the great hunt. The moment the word left his lips she knew there was no reaching him; he turned abruptly towards the door, rage radiating of his body with every step.

Coming back to reality, she noticed her left hand griping the sake cup causing the foggy liquid to ripple with her tense form. She took a deep breath before bringing the drink to her lips for the second time today. _ I really am getting to old for this. _


	5. Flashback

A younger Kakashi stood at the gates of Konoha awaiting the arrival of his other two ANBU teammates. Attaching his ANBU mask of the dog to his hip, he leaped up to the wall that met the edge of the gate and sat down. Leaning back against the post, he pulled out the first book of the Icha Icha series he would soon grow to love.

"How can anyone read this shit," he mumbled to himself. He sighed, trying to pocket the novel back into his pouch. Deciding to leave it open to give off his 'relaxed' appearance, he brought it back up to his face while continuing to scan his surroundings.

Just as he was about to give the book another try he heard the footsteps of two others approaching. Narrowing his eyes at the two jonin, he recognized the female immediately. She had Brown hair and eyes, with purple markings on both of her cheeks, the only distinguishing mark of her clan. Childhood teammate of the original Team 7 with Orbito and himself: Rin. _I really should find out her last name, _He thought to himself.

The other jonin was just behind her; he recognized the crest on his back immediately. Uchiha. Kakashi's eye narrowed at the sight of the young clan member. _He must me no older than when I made captain; Impressive. Or ANBU is really that desperate for bodies. _His gaze was met with Itachi's fully developed sharingans. Kakashi raised an eyebrow with a smirk behind his mask; Now _this could be fun._

Kakashi closed his book with a snap as he stood up on the wall and pocketed the book; he leapt down to greet his team. "So, everyone know the details?" he asks, not directed towards anyone in particular. "Sense I'm the captain of this team, we'll discuss the plan on the way to Amegakure. I hope you're ready to depart because we're leaving now." With that the white haired jonin reached for the mask on his hip and tied it around his head.

Rin and Itachi both grabbed their respective masks from their pouches. Rin pulled her hair back into a soft braid before tying her ANBU cat mask around her head. Itachi, pulling his hair back into a loose ponytail, spared a glance at Kakashi before tying his ANBU hawk mask around. Kakashi unwrapped a rich red scarf from his bag and took a moment to study it. He quickly wrapped the cloth around his neck before giving a nod to his comrades.

"Well, shall we?" was the last thing heard at the gate as they all disappeared into the night.

-o-

Usually the ANBU worked either solo or in platoons of 4, but with the Kyuubi attack just a few years ago, the rosters were much smaller than it once was. The white haired jonin sighed to himself, _time to see what kind of a team I've got for this one._ Kakashi stopped abruptly on a tree trunk, raising his left hand in fist to the air, signaling his team to stop. Rin, having fought alongside Kakashi in the past, knew his signals and came to an immediate halt beside him, crouching against the tree. Itachi, never being teamed with the two before, misread the command. Luckily, having fully mastered his sharingan, he used it to read Rin's actions and copied them, landing opposite from his captain and in the same position as Rin.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the Uchiha; _He knows his stuff. Good, _he thought to himself. Crouching down and back a bit to form a group triangle, the jonin then pulls the mission's recap from his pouch and set it down in the middle. Using hand signals only, Kakashi pointed at specific words in the encrypted message, letting the team understand the mission with no words being spoken between them. Such was the ANBU way.

Once the team nodded their understanding, Kakashi pulled a lighter from his pouch and lit a corner of the page. He waited until the message was completely destroyed before pocketing the lighter and leaping down to the ground floor. Rin and Itachi followed with the exact same timing. Kakashi grinned to himself; _looks like I've got a good team so far._

Keeping the same formation as before, he began dragging his right forefinger in the dirt, mapping out formations. Traveling would have Kakashi in the front, with his one sharingan to scout ahead; Rin was positioned in the middle for protection (being the medic of the group); and Itachi in the rear with both his sharingans for scouting behind. Battle formation would have the two sharingan users around and to the front of the medic, staying within close proximity of one another and insuring her safety. Kakashi sighed at not having a long-range fighter within the group; then again, Uchihas did fancy their fire techniques quite a bit. He could only help that the newest member was indeed that talented. Something told him he wouldn't be disappointed. The team nodded once more in understanding before they all set off once again towards their destination.

-o-

_Amegakure, _Kakashi thought to himself as they moved stealthily towards the border. _ Where the White Fang's mission started; the one that dishonored him; killed him. _He clenched his fists together. _ This mission will be a success; I will restore the Hatake clan's honor. I will destroy this group of rebels, the Akatsuki!_

Seeing the captain lost in thought, Itachi drifted back from the formation a moment before releasing a summoning jujitsu. Kakashi and Rin both spun their heads back to the Uchiha in question. He raised his right arm with a hawk resting on it. The hawk lifted up its wings and took flight; "Scouting ahead," were his first words since the mission started.

Kakashi narrowed his eye once before nodding, "Good thinking." The three continued on their way towards Hidden Rain Village without another thought. Little did the group know, Itachi released a second hawk within the same summon; the second bird however was not a scout, it was a messenger.

_-o-_

Shortly after arriving in Amegakure, the three ANBU remained outside the city limits to avoid detection. A fierce rain began to fall, covering all the land. Feeling something was off, the team decided to stay within the outskirts of the city as a safety precaution. Little did they know, they were caught the moment they crossed the border.

The three of them set up camp within a small, abandoned cave they found nearby. No fire was allowed in fear that it would give away their position, so the three of them laid their sleeping mats together. Feeling a bit awkward at first, the group soon overcame their discomfort in exchange for survival. They each took turns with watch through out the night, neither one saying a word to the other. Kakashi took the last watch and prepared a small portion of rations for the others.

"Senpai," Itachi broke the silence first. Kakashi looked up from his meal, not quite used to having such an honorific title. "Thank you," was all the Uchiha said as he continued to eat his meal. Rin smiled at the two, shifting her gaze towards her oldest teammate. Kakashi stared down into his ration as if pondering his words. He gave a light shrug, continuing the meal with no response given.

After packing up all their gear and properly equipping their weapons, they decided to make a dash for the tower and complete the mission as fast as possible. The ANBU team took a direct and stealthy approach; rushing towards the city as they leapt over the city wall and stayed above the streets below. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop and hiding in the shadows when they could, they finally reached the tower with little time wasted and to their knowledge, undetected.

Reaching the tower, they made quick work scouting around the base for a way inside. Finding an air vent on the first floor they agreed this would be the best option for their mission. Kakashi quickly removed the plate as the three filled their feet with chakra and entered. Slowly and quietly they climbed the many floors to the top; anticipation was starting to get the best of them, knowing that their goal was just ahead. Just as they were about to reach the top floor, and their final destination, Kakashi raised his left fist up once more and signaled the team to a stop. They reviewed their battle formations again before drawing their weapons for the attack. Kakashi lifted his headband from his left eye, revealing his sharingan. Placing his mask back over his head, the team charged into the room before them, their final goal.

Kakashi and Itachi crouched down when entering, both of the jonin's fists full of shuriken. A voice emerges from behind them, "Welcome to my home." A man with short, orange hair and numerous chakra rods embedded into his skin smirks at the two ANBU, raising his right hand up to face them.

_Shit, _Kakashi thinks to himself, _when were we discovered? _He motions for Itachi to charge in first, allowing him a few seconds more to charge his infamous attack, Chidori. Itachi nods once in understanding, starting his assault with a flurry of shuriken before quickly forming the hand signs for his clan's fire jutsu. The s-class ninja before them stared blankly as he used his Heavenly Push jutsu to repel the Uchiha's fire. Unable to move, Itachi is thrown back into the wall towards Kakashi. Deactivating his fire jutsu just in time, he cancels out his attack before burning the two of them.

Noticing the delay in his foe's attacks, Kakashi quickly charges forward with his fully charged Chidori in hand. The screeching sound is heard through out the floor as he gets closer and closer to his target. Inches away from the ninja's chest, Kakashi's determination is met with a blank and deadly stare. Heavenly Push is activated once more, throwing the Hatake to the ground with a sickening snap. Forcing the pain to the back of his mind and not wanting to think about what could have broken, he looks towards Itachi, preparing for a second assault.

Itachi nods back his acknowlegement, ready to attack. Drawing his katana to his hands, the Uchiha tries a side approach, Kakashi doing the same from the right side. Both ANBU leap for the strike at the precise moment, using one another's sharingans to perfect their timing and communication. On any other opponent, their attack would have been flawless and smooth. This was a S-ranked criminal they were up against, an Akatsuki founder. The voice shouts out with his next attack, "Allow me to show you Pain!"

Unable to move mid-air, Pain uses his Heavenly Pull jutsu to pull the two shinobi towards one another. Swords still drawn for their failed attack, both shinobi braced for the pain to follow, trying to will their arms to move to prevent the blow. Blood sprayed from the left and right of Pain as the two ANBU collided together. Eyes flinching from the wounds, both fell to the ground before Pain, gripping at their sides for a brief moment.

Rin rushes towards them, only to have Kakashi yell out to her through gritted teeth, "Stay back, please! Run away!" Rin continues her path, not wanting to loose another teammate due to her own weaknesses. Pain acknowledges the young girl's approach and raises his hand towards her. Kakashi let's out a scream of determination as he drives his father's tanto into Pain's right leg.

Looking down at the leg but feeling no pain, he continues with the attack. Within the few moments of stalled time, Itachi impales his katana into Pain's heart before the jutsu activated once more. Heavenly Push activates as the Pain before stagers back and falls to a knee. Kakashi let's out with a grunt, feeling the small cracks in his ribs from earlier completely break as he impacted with the wall. He tries to rise to his feet, only to have the sharp pain in his chest drop him to his knees.

Itachi feels the puncture wound in his side spread as he slams into the wall opposite Kakashi; the blood starting to soak through the back of his uniform. He grits his teeth from the pain, standing but leaning against the wall for support. He glances at Rin, seeing no life threatening damage, but possibly a rather large concussion. He pants heavily trying to make it over towards his other teammate. Kakashi locks eyes with Itachi as he approaches, "No, save Rin! That's an order! I'll take care of this guy." Pulling all the strength he has left, he leans back against the wall, charging another Chidori.

Itachi's eyes widen at the jutsu; he studies how it's created, but also it's drawbacks. "Captain, you can't possibl…" His red eyes are met with Kakashi's one sharingan, pure determination and anger glaring back.

"I said, that's an order!" he yelled, the Chidori gaining power.

Kakashi locks eyes with Pain, "You're mine!" Adrenaline rushing through his body, he charges with everything he has, everyone he needs to protect. Pain let's out a grumbled sigh, raising his arm up again.

"Stop!" came the sound of a new voice. All eyes turned towards the man entering the room; all except for Kakashi. Using the momentary distraction, the white haired ninja thrust his Chidori into Pain's heart, knocking the deva path into the wall next to Rin. Kakashi lands on his feet, barely standing. He falls back to a knee; the two Chidori's attacks taking a large toll on his chakra levels.

Itachi gathers an unconscious Rin in his arms before the new comer appears before him. He locks eyes with the pale man, his red eyes glaring into yellow, animalistic eyes. The man smirks, "Ah, so you must be the Uchiha that has all of Konoha talking. They say you're some sort of prodigy." The man licks his lips, "Oh, how I have longed for such eyes." Itachi leaps away from the snake like man back towards Kakashi; he lowers Rin to the ground next to him, drawing his sword once more.

"Please boy, you're in no condition to fight a Sannin." Orochimaru says, mocking the boy and drawing his own katana, "I'd be happy to lock blades with you though, but I'm afraid you wouldn't be much fun as you are now." Kakashi pulls Rin close to his chest as he reaches for Itachi's arm, his breathing labored.

"Itachi, you're in no condition to fight. Stand down, that's an order." He locks eyes with the Uchiha, hoping he wasn't about to do something stupid. Itachi says nothing to acknowledge the orders, the mere jester of lowering his blade just a fraction says it all. Kakashi knew this guy was interesting.

"With all due respect, Captan," Itachi says through pained breaths, "we've already completed the mission. We've killed the Amegakure leader." Kakashi's eyes narrow at his words. Itachi snaps his blade up to his chest, "Let us show them our true Will of Fire!" The Uchiha launches forward, jumping from left to right. He brings his blade back against his side, appearing behind Orochimaru. The snake's eyes widen for a brief moment.

Konan appears, facing towards the Uchiha, her back against her snake like brother in arms. Grabbing hold of Itachi's wrists, she uses her unknown jutsu and begins to wrap sheets of paper around his arm. Using the hold on the boy, she then flings the shinobi across the floor back to his teammates. Itachi grunts at the landing, dislocating his right shoulder with the impact.

"I could have handled that, Konan. " The snake seethes at his teammate.

"Right, but remember, we want him alive," she says blankly looking towards the orange haired body on the side. Using the same paper jutsu as moments before, she wraps a fine, paper cocoon around the body and brings it back towards her. Facing the three ANBU again she speaks in the same tone as before, "Your mission is complete; return home Leaf shinobi. You have no other business here."

The two conscious ANBU jonin glare back, Itachi rising to his feet and placing himself in front of his comrades to protect them, katana wearily drawn before him. _What the Hell is it with these damned Uchiha's and all their self sacrificing? _ Kakashi yells in his head, trying to think of a way out of this situation. His thoughts are interrupted by Itachi's voice, "Who's to say either of you won't take his place?" He motions towards the man wrapped beside Konan, "We should kill all of you, just to ensure the mission is completed."

Orochimaru lets out a laugh as he appears behind the boy, whispering into his ear; "Because, maybe we have plans for you later." The snake licks his lips, causing a shiver to go up his spine. He snaps his hand back across the boy's neck, removing all consciousness from the Uchiha. He slumps forward in shock, eyes deactivating as he hits the floor unconscious. The snake turns back towards the Hatake and his other unconscious teammate. "She looks useful to me as well," he licks his lips with a wicked grin.

Kakashi draws his shuriken before them, keeping his hold tight on Rin; "I won't let you touch her." He narrows his eyes, bringing his other arm around to form a series of jutsu if needed. Orochimaru approaches the two, arm outstretched towards the girl. Inches away from her hair, Kakashi began to form some hand signs before a crash is heard behind him. _Fuck, now what, _he grunts to himself. Orochimaru jumps back next to Konan at the new arrivals.

"Kakashi," came the voice of the Third. Surrounded by a few of ANBU's finest, he speaks with determination, himself in battle gear. "You and your team fall back, that's an order." The newly arrived platoon surrounds their comrades and places themselves between the Akatsuki and themselves. Kakashi starts to interject his opinion before the Third faces him once again, "That's an order, Hatake. I expect you to follow them." Kakashi flinches at his words but obeys. He wearily rises to his feet as he gathers his two teammates and retreats towards the way the Third came. "Let's finish this my old pupil," was the last thing he heard from the Hokage as he leapt back down the vent shaft.

-o-

"Itachi," it was the voice of Danzo; somehow his voice always made his skin scrawl.

"Yes, Senpai," came the response; Itachi hid his discomfort behind a wall in his mind. _It's been almost a week since we returned from Amegakure, _he thought to himself._ I was beginning to wonder what happened after I blacked out. _ Clenching his fist ever so slightly, he kept his attention on the man before him.

"You did well to report when you did; your actions may have saved the mission and other valuable ANBU members. The mission was successful." He smiles down at the Uchiha before him, studying the boy's movements. _To think he could be this far along at his age, _he brings up his right hand and rests it on the boy's shoulder. "Itachi," he says once more, bring his attention back to the empty, dark room they were occupying. "I have great plans for you in the future, but I need you to swear your allegiance to me first."

Itachi nods his head once in response, "Of course you have my allegiance, Senpai. As does all of ROOT." He recoiled at his words, mentally; _wasn't that the same type of thing the Akatsuki was trying to say to me? _ He shakes his head at the thought; _No, my allegiance is to the Leaf, to Konoha only. Nothing will ever change that. _"I am ready for your next mission."

Danzo smiles once more as he retracts his right hand and reaches into the cloak over his shoulders. He fishes around in one of the left, inner pockets before pulling out a folded, dark red scarf. Opening the scarf to its full length, he leans forward and wraps the cloth loosely around the Uchiha's neck. Standing back up to his full height, he addresses the jonin again.

"Report to my office by 0600 tomorrow," he moves his right hand back down to Itachi's left shoulder and gives it a gentle squeeze, "Captain." 


	6. Why

Letting out a sigh, the red-eyed Akatsuki member continued to poke at the fire by his feet. He glanced up at the night sky, admiring the beauty of the starts within the clearing. _Rin would have loved this place. _He shifts his weight a bit before turning his attention back to his partner, hungrily waiting for him to continue. "So, after that, I woke up in the hospital alone. About a week later I was promoted to captain for the ANBU divisions." He watches his partner's movements for any sort of response.

Kisame leans back a bit, resting on the elbow of his left arm, "So that's it? What the Hell does that have to do with us and this girl that you seem to be so infatuated with?" The animalistic man watches him carefully; a look in his eyes says it all to Itachi, _If I find out that this is all about some girl… _Itachi raises a hand towards him as if asking him to pause. He takes a deep breath, collecting his thoughts.

"I have no relations with the girl, rest assured; however, this mission started Orochimaru's infatuation with her." Kisame raises an eyebrow as Itachi continues, "Before you and I joined the brotherhood, I was approached by the one called Tobi. He was my… accomplice for the massacre." He lets out a painful cough before his red eyes drift back to the sky. His face seems emotional as he continues, "As I was leaving Konoha, after I gave my final words to my brother, she appeared before me." His eyes seem distant, almost lost; "She asked why, begging me to stop, to turn myself in. I gave her no response, I lifted my blade and cut her down before me." _My love… _He fights back a tear from his face, shifting his thoughts to fight back the memories.

Kisame sighs a bit out of annoyance, "While this is all touching, I still don't see why we need to give a fuck about all this again." He grumbles a bit, reaching towards his sword.

That was the mood change he needed; Itachi turns his head back to the jonin, "We care, because she's still alive; because with her alive, we no longer need to hunt the Kyuubi's jinchuriki." He clenches his fist, eyes narrowing at the fire. Kisame spins back around towards him, a mix of anger, resentment and curiosity on his face.

"What the fuck are you talking about, Uchiha…"

"The Uzumaki child isn't the only one," he states rather blatantly. "That's why we need to find her."

-o-

After gathering all the equipment needed from his tiny apartment, Kakashi took one last glance around the living room/kitchenette. He took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts and cooling his emotions. _I never react so out of character, _he grumbles to himself, _But why now Itachi, why come back for her information. Our information. Wasn't taking her from me enough? _Biting his lip in frustration, he slams a tight fist into the wall as he locks the front door and exits through the living room's balcony.

Stepping out into the cool night's air, he feels his anger and frustrations beginning to fade. _Just need to pay them a visit before I head out. _His feet automatically turn towards their new destination. Having spent many hours of his time at the stone, he could get there with his eyes closed. He closes them anyways, forming a few plans of action now that his sanity has seemed to reappear.

Coming up on the training field next to the stone, he lets out a sigh, feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders. Somehow this place always made him briefly forget the worries of the world and why he was about to embark on such a dangerous mission. _Ok, perhaps it wasn't a mission. But I'll be damned if I'm about to let anyone stop me from going. _ He walks over to his usual spot and lowers his pack to the ground beside him.

"I'll be heading out soon, Orbito; to try and keep even a fraction of that promise to you. I'll stop him this time, I'll get her revenge." A soft breeze picks up as if answering his words. Kakashi tilts his head up towards the sky, letting the breeze surround him. He opens his eye towards nothing in particular till a small flicker of light catches his eye from the top of the memorial. _That's odd…_

He stretches his arm up, gathering the object in his right hand. He brings it back down towards his chest, his eye widening before he even opens his palm to reveal the item. _Why the Hell is this here; _he opens his hand, revealing a silver locket. He rubs his thumb over the necklace, wiping away some of the dust, dirt and grime. He rests his thumb over the clasp, hesitating to open it. Biting his lip, he decides against it, tightening his grip around the piece.

Bringing his left thumb to his lips, he cleanly bites a sliver of skin, drawing a small amount of blood. The jonin slams his palm into the ground before a puff of smoke appears. The smoke clears just as quick as it came, his familiar summon and best friend sitting there with a rather irritated expression on his face. "I swear, if this is about those damned books again, pup."

Kakashi looks down at his summon, a mix of emotions in his eye. "No, mate. This is something far more important." The pug raises an eyebrow, taking in the jonin's body language.

"Well, what's got you all worked up then?" The jonin kneels down to the dog's level, reaching his hand out rather protectively towards the pug. Pakkun's eyes widen with realization, "What's this about 'Kashi," he says, using a nickname he hadn't used since she was around. "Where did you get this and furthermore, why does it have _his _scent." Kakashi sighs at his summon, pocketing the locket.

"I think it's a calling. He wants to meet with me after all these years." His fists clench against his wishes to remain calm and collected. Pakkun let's out a sigh of his own, bringing a paw up to Kakashi's forearm.

"Pup, are you sure you're ready for this? I mean, it's been a few years and let's face it, you're not as collected as you should be right now." The shinobi pulls his arm back as if burned, narrowing his eyes at the pug.

"This is Rin, we're talking about Pakkun. Nothing is going to stop me from pursuing this, not after this long." His eyes shift away from him towards the stone, full of anger, confusion and a hint of betrayal; this was his best friend after all. "I can't fail them again."

Pakkun snorts distastefully at his master, "Really now 'Kashi; I expected a more commanding demand if you're going to summon me at this time of night. I already know what you want me to do, just say it already. While I might not exactly like it, you know I'm not about to let you do this alone." The pug shifts his gaze past him, towards the village, "and neither are they." He smirks a bit, waiting for the jonin to snap back to reality.

Kakashi furrows his brows as he feels the familiar chakra of his friends approach. _Damn, I really am going to need some help if I didn't even feel them approach. _He sighs to himself, a smile creeping up along his face. He grabs the pack beside him as he rises to his feet, swinging it over his shoulder. "I know why they're coming and I can't let them interfere; at least not yet."

Pakkun lets out a sigh, waving his paw in a very dismissive manner. "I know the drill. The scent leads northwest towards the Country of Rain." The copy-ninja places the other strap of his pack over his shoulder as Pakkun finishes, "And 'Kashi, do be somewhat alive this time around." The jonin gives him his trademark-smiling eye before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Pakkun then turns towards the group approaching, "You owe me, pup."

-o-

A faint knocking is heard on the glass surround her prison. She opens an eye, glancing around at the other forsaken experiments surrounding her before settling her gaze on the man before her. White hair and glasses is all she can make out through her watery cage. She hears an almost mute sound come from his mouth as he speaks to her; she reads his lips slowly. _Kyuubi?_

Kabuto flashes her a grin, knowing full well she can't hear inside of the enforced barrier. He walks up to the table sitting beside the prison, a few vials and elixirs glimmering in the soft light of the dungeon. He gathers a purple hued vial in his hand and walks back over to the tank. Lifting a tube resting towards the bottom, he twists a cap from the tip and pours the vial's contents into the opening. He looks back up to the girl with another grin. "Rest well, your services will be needed soon enough."

The girl narrows her eyes at the man and the liquid beginning to take over the mass of the tank. She struggles against its hold before her body begins to numb from the elixirs touch. Giving one final look of death to her captor, she lashes out at towards the man before darkness consumes her once more. _I swear to the gods I'll kill you. Whoever you are, I will kill you. _Her thoughts also fade to unconsciousness before the darkness settles in.

T_hat wasn't my voice, was it?_

-o-

Kisame rubs a few fingers around the bridge of his nose before glancing back at his partner rather infuriated. "Let me get this straight," he says, barely containing his anger. "Orochimaru took your lover's body back to the Akatsuki with the idea of bringing her back to life and implanting some of the Kyuubi's remaining chakra within the girl?"

The jonin nods once in response, "Yes. Pain used his reanimation rebirth jutsu and brought her back to the living. With Pain drained of his chakra, Orochimaru then took her somewhere unknown; possibly one of his many hideouts." He lets out a sigh, eyes fixated on the dying fire before him.

"He came back to the Akatsuki, wanting to negotiate with Pain; his secrets of immortality for his lab created jinchuriki. Pain refused, stating that his experiment would only be a false spirit and would only destroy the Akatsuki's plans. Orochimaru then came after me, trying to use my former relations with her as a form of leverage against Pain. He then tried to attack me once I refused, claiming that he'd take my eyes and make Pain see for himself that his creation was as good as the original. He lost that match and I severed his left hand for doing so. He left soon after with no trace of where he might be hiding." Itachi moves his gaze over towards his partner, "The experiment wasn't a failure, he did indeed create a second jinchuriki."

Kisame sighs to himself, trying to take it all in; "So, if he succeeded, why are we hunting down the others and not creating copies?"

The Uchiha remains silent for a few moments as if trying to calculate how to best approach the situation. "Because how the Kyuubi was sealed within the third jinchuriki was unique in itself. It's only because half of the beast's chakra wasn't sealed that made the experiment even possible to begin with. Another reason is we'll need the entire spirit to proceed with out plan. Once we catch one and make her presence known, the other will come running. " Watching his partner carefully, Kisame leans back up around the fire.

"So, how do we go about finding a hidden jinchuriki; one whose chakra is being suppressed by a former Akatsuki no less?"

Itachi reaches for the mission log in his pouch as he answers calmly, "With his help."

Kisame raises an eyebrow, "And why the hell would we want the enemy to know our next move?"

"Because he loves her, and he'll stop at nothing to get her back." He glances back over towards his partner, "When it's a mission to save a loved one, people will change beyond their set limitations. Including alliances."

He tosses the log into the fire as it briefly sparks a new life to the dying flames. The flames illuminate the clearing for a few moments before dying down once more to embers with nothing left to burn. "Once that happens, he'll have burned his alliances; alienating him from those he's trying to protect. He'll have nothing, except us."

Kisame gives a wicked grin as the embers slowly loose their glow, "I like the way you think, Uchiha." His grin fades from animalistic to demonic as the glow dies down.


	7. The Locket

Sakura felt her pounding headache pulse even more as Naruto's voice gained higher in pitch. She releases her teammate, furrowing her brow and gathering charka in her right fist. "Naruto!" Her breathing becomes heavy as she tries to control her anger; she finally just lets out a defeated sigh. _So this is why Tsunade-sama drinks. _

Naruto spins around towards Sakura, about to yell back in her face; the pupil of his eye starting to narrow like that of the kyuubi's. Pakkun lifts a paw as he starts to face the two original team 7 teammates. He watches them leap after one another and start rolling around on the ground in some sort of argument before sighing. He faces the two newer members of the team, Sai and Yamato as they simply stare blankly at the two. "There's no sense retelling the story, so I might as well give his orders to the only ones that will listen."

Yamato and Sai nod in unison as they turn their attention to the pug. Pakkun spares a glance back to the two, seeing dirt; leaves and some chakra swirl around in a ball of energy. _Those two with ANBU training… _He shivers at the thought. He smiles, focusing back on the two trained ANBU. "Anyways, Kakashi knows you'll be coming, and he's also smart enough to know that you wont listen to orders to stay put and not come after him." Silence comes from the rumbling shinobi at the mention of their sensei's name.

"Then, why are we wasting time here talking about it? We need to go help Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto piped up, rising from the ground. He rubs his left arm sorely, shooting a glare towards Sakura.

"Baka!" Sakura chimes in, dusting off her clothes and using her medical jutsu to heal a few cuts and bruises. "If you listened from the beginning, we wouldn't have wasted so much time trying to explain it to you!"

"Enough!" Both jonin stopped and snapped attention towards the voice. Yamato sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I, and Sai, want to help Kakashi-senpai just as much as you do. That's why we were assigned to do this together. Pakkun here is kindly going to lead us to him so that we can help him out; understood?"

Pakkun smirks at the ANBU captain; "actually, I have no intention of leading you to the pup."

The three jonin snap a look of anger and confusion towards the dog, except Sai who kept a blank demeanor. "Then why are you here?" Sai asks calmly.

Pakkun smiles a bit wider, "We're going to find a locket_."_

-o-

Night had fully embraced the sky as he stopped for a break on a branch high above the tree line. His breath was heavy, soaking the edge of his mask as sweat ran down his brow under his leaf headband. He lifted the right side, wiping the brow above his sharingan. Kakashi closed his eyes a moment, letting the nights cool air lower his body temperature.

Reaching into his back pouch he picked up the locket and opened his eyes. Resting his thumb over the clasp once again, he pushed the piece back, letting it fall open. His heart skipped a beat at the photo inside. _Why, Itachi. _Scanning over the photo with his sharingan, he burned the image into his mind. The three of them together after the mission; Rin was in the middle, smiling as always. Kakashi was on the left, an arm around Rin in a playful manner; his left eye in his trademark smile. Itachi stood on the right; his back turned slightly towards Rin. His back was turned slightly from the group, but his eyes. His eyes looked lost, longing. _Jealous? _

Kakashi turned the locket slightly to the side, studying the photo more closely. _You, you loved her, didn't you…. _Kakashi's eye widened in realization; "Shit." He closes the locket with a hard snap, taking a deep breath. Activating a small amount of chakra to his left fingers he brings them up to the outside of the locket. A deep sense of protectiveness begins to take over as he flips the locket over. _Lost?_

The character for lost appears on the back, glowing in a deep, violet red. The character's color starts to fade, barely visible. It starts to gain its vibrant color again before fading back to nothing. Kakashi cocks his head to the side, watching the character continue its rhythm. _A heartbeat… _Lifting the locket straight out before him, he starts to slowly spin the locket in different directions. The locket's glow becomes more vibrant as he faces northwest.

He lets a small smile escape his lips, "Always knew I you were interesting." He clenches a fist before leaping off his branch and into the tree line below. 

-o-

Leaning back on one of the trees in the area, Itachi glanced from his partner up towards the night sky. _Rin, I'll come for you; just like I always promised. But, I won't blame you for hating me… _He drifts off in thought, remembering the last time he saw her.

_If you wish to kill me, resent me, hate me, and survive… in obscurity. _He turned his head away from his little brother. _Run… keep running… and cling to life. _Activating his mangekyo, he turns sharply back towards Sasuke; _Then one day, come before me with the same eye that I possess. _

Unable to control the shock and emotions any longer, Sasuke falls to his knees in horror before hyperventilating and falling unconscious on the ground before him. Itachi turns away from his brother, holding back tears as he steps forward, abandoning his entire life. He walks towards the gate, his mind and emotions numb with anger, hatred, fear and regret. Every foot forward seems like another piece of him breaking off, slowly chipping away whom he once was.

He steps outside the city walls as the feeling of abandonment settles in. Stumbling forward he notices his hands begin to shake. He glances down at his hands confused, thinking these hands belong to someone else. Hearing a muffled sob, he raises his eyes towards the sound. Before his eyes even meet the target, it all becomes clear why he was shaking.

He locks his eyes with his former teammate, his stone cold, ANBU demeanor returning. His eyes are met with a beautiful shade of brown, tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks. He flinches on the inside seeing her in so much pain, so much misery. _I'm sorry… _He thinks to himself, but his mouth doesn't seem to say the words. She begins to sob even more at his silence.

"Itachi…" She chokes out the word, trying to find some sort of composure. "Itachi, why, how; how could you?" Her eyes become soft, her gaze slipping into one of panic. She steps closer towards him, her body screaming of hesitations and fear. Itachi winces slightly at her reaction.

She glances down at his trembling hands, trying to focus anywhere else so she could at least speak a few words. His former leaf headband glistens in the moonlight as his tight fists grip the band with white knuckles. Sweat starts to slowly drip down his arm, mixing the blood of his clan within it. She turns her head away, unable to comprehend anymore. His voice snaps her back to reality, "I did it because I had to…"

He turns away from her, walking out towards the forest, towards the border of the Fire Country. Every step seems like a pained effort, another confirmation of what he had done moments before. Reaching the tree line he stops suddenly, his uniform being gripped from the back. He activates his sharingan, reading her same chakra behind him. Feeling the grip tightening, he puts a foot back to balance as she falls to her knees in tears.

"Please, please… don't go." She whispers between sobs, "we can fix this, we can talk to the Hoka…" Her sobs stop abruptly he turns away from her grasp, kneels down to a knee and places his lips firmly on her own. She returns the kiss gently, her eyes wide at his reaction. He presses harder, the kiss becoming more wild and passionate. He slowly opens his sharingan eyes to hers as they fill with a deep sorrow.

"I'm sorry." He softly whispers through their kiss. Her eyes widen more in shock and pain as his sword runs through her chest. She looks confused, lost as he places a hand around her necklace, a locket that he had given her when they first met. He grips the locket tightly, as blood begins to slowly seep through her lips. The color in her eyes begins to fade as he slowly draws his sword back out of dying body. Her eyes flutter a few times before her body leans back against its own weight.

Itachi gives a small tug on the locket, snapping the frail chain against her neck. Her body falls to the ground as her once bright, brown eyes fade to a sickening grey color. Rising to his feet, he clenches the locket tightly, fighting the tears threatening to overtake his every emotion.

A second Uchiha then steps out of the tree line, a glimmer of excitement in his right eye. "It was going to happen anyways, Itachi… you knew she couldn't come with you; that she wouldn't understand." Itachi did nothing in terms of a response or acknowledgement, just stared blankly down at the body before him. Moments passed before the masked Uchiha finally laid a hand on the other's shoulder, "Come, we're finished here."

Itachi flinches at the man's touch, a wild and uncontrolled rage burning in his eyes. "I have nothing to do with you." He pockets the locket in his back pouch as he turns away from the girl. Madara reaches down to touch the girl before Itachi quickly snaps a hand against his arm in a death grip. "You will not be touching her, ever." With that he releases his partners hand and walks deeper into the forest.

Madara glances from him back down to the girl and smiles, "Perhaps I won't, but I know someone who can…" He turns back towards Itachi and follows him into the darkness, a wicked smile spreading across his lips.

Kisame stirs in his sleep, bringing a weary looking Itachi back to the present. He glances down towards his chest, a familiar symbol glowing brighter and brighter with each beat.

_Time for us to meet face to face, Kakashi… _He rises to his feet and collects his few belongings before heading of into the thick of the forest.


	8. Bearings

Led by Pakkun, Kakashi's team was making excellent time through the Fire Country. Night had settled in and group was completely silent, especially from a particular blonde haired shinobi. Sakura spared a glance over towards him, seeing a look of determination and worry in his eyes.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Naruto." She spoke softly as if trying to convince her-self the words were true. "He's done plenty of solo missions, and that was long before we came alo…" Her words stopped in her throat as Naruto snapped over to lock eyes with hers; red, fox like eyes. She shivered slightly before returning her focus on their traveling.

Naruto finally broke the silence once more; "I'm not scared for Kakashi-sensei. I know he's strong, one of the best of Konoha." He took a deep breath, calming his thoughts. He fell back slightly from the group, giving Sakura a small signal to do the same. "I'm worried about the locket Pakkun told us about."

"But, that's just what Kakashi-sensei wanted us to know about; that way we knew how to find him." Sakura fell back in step to Naruto, keeping her eyes on the rest of the team.

Naruto nods once in response, "Right, but I think it's more than that. You know how Kakashi –sensei always spoke of 'look underneath the underneath' kind of stuff. I think this locket is also something he'll need later. He wants us to find him, just not yet; we'll know when."

Sakura had to catch herself from tripping over a branch as she caught what Naruto was saying. _When the Hell did he become as smart as the Nara clan? _She shook her head a bit, clearing her thoughts, "Even so, this is involving Itachi Uchiha, and we know Sasuke will be close by."

"Exactly…" Naruto increases his speed a bit so the others wouldn't get suspicious. "We're after Sasuke, that's why Kakashi-sensei wanted us to come." Furrowing his eyebrows a bit he turns to face her once more. "My concern is that he'll try and take this on alone. I understand this is 'his fight', but it became ours as well when Sasuke left us years ago." He glances forward again, his shoulders dropping slightly, "I just hope we won't be to late."

That caught her attention again, "To late for what Naruto; what are you not telling me?"

Placing a hand on his stomach over the seal mark, Naruto spoke again in a whispered tone, "I hope I'm wrong, but I think it involves the Kyuubi as well."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock, "Why would this involved the Kyuubi?"

"I don't know," he locks his eyes with her once again, this time soft and concerned. "But I can feel the locket Pakkun was talking about. It's faint but it's calling to me as well."

"Hey, everything ok back there?" the voice of Yamato broke in from up ahead.

"Yeah, sorry… was just scouting for enemy in the area," Naruto smiled. "Come on, let's catch up to the others." With that the two picked up the pace and caught up with the rest of the team.

-o-

Kakashi quickly came to a halt when he felt the environment shift slightly. _Shit, _he cursed to himself. He quickly lifted up the right side of his headband and jumped back against the tree closest to him. He lowered his hand down to the pouch on his leg, waiting to draw a weapon.

"It seems you've found me."

The copy-nin narrowed his eyes but didn't respond with words. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as a shuriken approached then landed mere centimeters from his neck. His eyes widened a bit as he jumped out of the path of a few follow-ups. Drawing a kunai mid jump- he deflected a few more shuriken before landing on a branch above. "Come out Itachi, we need to have a talk."

A flock of crows fills the sky before swarming down towards Kakashi. The birds group up before molding into a single being: Itachi. Kakashi jumps down to ground level, his grip still tight on his kunai. The Uchiha reaches out a hand towards his once teammate, flinching slightly at his instant recoil. "Return the locket."

Kakashi lifts his left hand and grips the locket resting around his neck, "Not until you tell me why you have it and what this has to do with me."

Itachi responds by bringing his hands up towards his chest, forming quick seals. Recognizing his hand formations, Kakashi releases his kunai and quickly forms his own hand seals for an earth style jutsu. A raging inferno starts to form from the Uchiha's mouth as Kakashi announces his Earth Release: Earth Style Wall.

Seconds pass like hours before he finishes off his Grand Fire Ball technique. As the Uchiha watches the glowing red wall of stone melt back to the earth floor he narrows his eyes, noticing the white haired jonin's means of escape. Reaching in his pouch for a kunai, Itachi leaps back moments before Kakashi breaks through the ground beneath his feat with his Headhunter jutsu. Itachi launches forward, using the brief moment of surprise to attack from behind.

Kakashi twists sharply at the sudden attack, bringing his kunai down in time to lock with Itachi's weapon. The two jonin struggle in a battle of strength, one trying to break through the other's defenses. "I don't like to repeat myself," came the cold voice of Itachi once more.

"Neither do I," Kakashi used a bit of extra strength to gain the upper hand. "Now tell me, why do you have Rin's locket!" The copy-nin uses his boiling emotions to push through, breaking Itachi's defense. Itachi staggers back, feeling the jonin's kunai pierce his side. Utilizing the momentum from the attack he brings his weapon across Kakashi's left side before the attack pierces deeper. Itachi falls to his knees, his form dispersing into a wave of black.

Kakashi staggers back against the same tree, breathing heavily and gripping his side. He feels his surroundings shift again as he glances down at the wound. While no physical damage was done, it certainly felt like it. Itachi appears before him once again, his arm extended "Again, return the locket."

Breathing heavily, Kakashi slumps his shoulders slightly; _I really hate Déjà vu…_ "Why did you summon me, Itachi," he says trying to catch a breath while returning to a defensive position. His hands start to shake slightly from fatigue. _Shit, this is what I get for not stopping to rest before coming all the way here. _Itachi continues his same stance, eyes locked on with the jonin's.

"You're already wearing down, Kakashi and we've only just begun here. Don't forget the last time you let down your guard around me." The environment suddenly shifts as Kakashi's eyes become wide in a horror. Suddenly standing next to his old teammate, Itachi points up at a copy of himself hanging on a cross, barely alive. Itachi looks over to his old teammate, "With your current state, I don't think you could survive another 3 days here."

Wincing at the thought, Kakashi shuts his eyes and reaches up to the locket. With a slight pull, he snaps the chain as the locket falls loosely into his hand. Like a fog being lifted, the illusion fades back to reality. Opening his eyes once more the copy-nin inhales sharply as the effects of the genjutsu take hold. Leaning to a tree beside him, he grips his left side, now aching in pain. "Enough of your games, Itachi. If you want to kill me just do it already." Kakashi spit a bit of blood in front of him, feeling the familiar chakra presence approach.

Closing in on the copy-nin, Itachi walks up carefully, keeping a good distance between them. "If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't be wasting my time. Notice also my partner is not here with us." Itachi takes another few steps closer; "I needed to meet with you, alone."

Kakashi glances down towards his feet, avoiding eye contract with the Uchiha. "Tell me then, why we're here." Griping the locket in his left hand, he lifts up his eyes and locks them with the jonin's, "I don't like to repeat myself."

Itachi remains collected as his eyes shift briefly to the locket and back to Kakashi. "Do you know how she got that locket?" The copy-nin straightens back against the tree as the Akatsuki member continues, "I gave that to her shortly after our first mission together; after I was promoted to captain." Kakashi narrowed his eyes in response.

"Yeah, I remember. She told me it was a nice gesture between friends, teammates." His gaze then turned to a glare, "You and I both know damn well that wasn't the case. You loved her." Clenching his fist around the locket, Kakashi takes a step towards him. "You hated the fact that we were so close that you were willing to do anything in your power to take her from me." Emotions now laced his voice with anger, "You couldn't except the fact that she loved me."

Itachi stared back with no emotion on his face before responding, "She didn't deserve you." Kakashi stumbled back at the simple comment as he continued, "She told me how you abandoned her, left her to die for a simple mission. I loved her and would have never left her alone." Kakashi regained his composure, fighting back the rage building inside.

"You're the fucking hypocrite!" Emotions were starting to control his speech, "You killed her that night, the night you slaughtered your entire clan and yet you stand here and tell me that you loved her?" He felt the locket straining under his grip. Taking a deep breath, the jonin collected his thoughts and released the pressure in his fists. "Why am I here." He says coldly.

"Because, we can still save her."

Kakashi narrows his eyes once again, "She's dead, baka. You killed her, remember."

Itachi slumps slightly, "Yes, I did. But she was brought back…"

A wave of emotions hit Kakashi harder than any blow in his career. His eyes widened as his mind runs through the possibilities. "No, you're lying. This is just another one of your genjutsus, one of your tricks."

Itachi reaches out and rests a hand on his shoulder, "I wouldn't have gone through the trouble of meeting with you if I was lying. We can save her, but you need to trust me."

Kakashi locks his gaze with the Uchiha, seeing a deep emotion trying to surface. His gaze drifts down the jonin's body, studying his chakra levels; _all normal, he's telling the truth…_ "Suppose I decide to believe you, why me; why do this alone?"

Itachi quickly contains himself, "To maintain appearances." He reaches out once more for the locket, "But most importantly, to prove we're better than scum." Letting out a rare smile, Itachi lowers his arm back to his side without the locket, "At least, that's what Rin would say."

Leting out a small chuckle, the copy-nin extends his left arm out towards the Uchiha, "Na, she got that from Orbito, formerly one of your clan." He rubs his fingers around the locket, "I'll be needing this to track her, but something tells me I can't do that without your help."

Itachi nods once in response, "You're correct." He reaches into his cloak and pulls out a small scroll. After opening the scroll he lays it down before his feet and kneels down, placing a hand on the seal towards the end. He motions for Kakashi to set the locket in other seal before activating his eyes. A few moments pass before a faint glow begins to shine from the locket. Itachi closes his eyes as a few beads of sweat begin to form across his brow.

Kakashi looks on, studying the technique and the scroll carefully. _How the Hell does he have an Uzumaki clan seal?_ He shifts his focus to the locket as the glow becomes brighter. Itachi removes his hand from the scroll, breathing sharply. He reaches out for the locket and grabs hold, wincing slightly at the strain on his body. His tension begins to fade as he caresses the locket. He closes his eyes and holds it out to Kakashi. The copy-nin takes the locket, looking over his former teammate carefully. "You don't look so good," he says matter-of-factly.

Rolling up the scroll, Itachi opens his eyes once more, ignoring the statement. "That seal has activated Rin's chakra network within the locket. We can use it as a beacon to find her." He rises to his feet rather weekly, "Problem is, we need to be relatively close for it to pick up her chakra signals."

"That's where I come in," Kakashi states as he watches the locked lose its glowing hue. Itachi nods once more in response as he places the scroll back in his cloak. _I'll have to ask him about that scroll later, _Kakashi thinks to himself.

"We'll rest here for a few hours. We both will need to be at full strength for the journey." Itachi leaps up towards the treetops with Kakashi close behind.

"And your partner won't mind me just tagging along?" Kakashi eyes the Uchiha skeptically as he watches him settle against the tree.

"I places him under a genjutsu before I came here. Like you were the last time we met; he won't be moving for awhile."

Kakashi raises and eyebrow at his statement while settling in on a branch slightly higher and to the side of Itachi, "A bit harsh, ehh?"

"It was all I could do keep him, occupied." Itachi slips a small vial to from his coat and takes a sip. He coughs violently for a few moments before pocketing the strange liquid quickly.

Kakashi eyed the vial, studying the color carefully. His eyes narrow in realization;_ why is he taking medicine of that level? _Itachi's voice broke his chain of thought, his eyes locking with his. "I'll take first watch." Kakashi nods once in response to his message, and the hidden one in his eyes.

Kakashi settles back into the tree a bit, his mind racing over the sudden change of events. He thinks back to the scroll and the vial in the Uchiha's cloak; _what else are you not telling me Itachi, what other surprises are you keeping from me. _Kakashi let his thoughts drift off with different theories before sleep was finally pulling him in. He let it take him, knowing he'd need to be at his best tomorrow.


	9. Lies and Trust

First day light was starting to spread across the night sky. Kakashi rose from his branch, stretching his sore limbs. Sure, he slept for about an hour before Itachi asked to swap for watch. _Well, that was quite some time ago, _he thought to himself. He checked his pouches and packed up his equipment before jumping down towards Itachi's branch.

He studied the missing-nin carefully as he slept. Itachi slept sitting up against the tree, his arms folded across his chest. Not uncommon for a shinobi, but the rough breathing was what caught his attention. Kakashi's eyebrows furrowed a bit; _He looks sick, almost dead. _ Drawing a kunai to his left hand, he knelt down and reached for his neck with his right. He came within inches of reaching the pressure point before Itachi's eyes shot open, locking instantly with his. Itachi used the brief moment of surprise to catch his hand around the wrist.

"I'm awake." Itachi said calmly, never moving his eyes from Kakashi's. The white haired shinobi shrugs at the comment, pulling his arm free.

"You looked pretty 'gone' to me." Kakashi rose up to his feet, hoping he would catch the double meaning. Itachi leaned forward a bit before standing up as well. Closing his eyes he shifted his gaze elsewhere, watching the sun peak over the horizon. He leaves Kakashi's statement unanswered as he leaps down to the forest floor.

"Come, we've wasted enough time." Itachi starts to walk off in an unknown direction.

Leaping down behind his new partner, Kakashi let's out a small chuckle as he wipes his thumb across a small injury from his previous fight. He slams the palm into the ground shouting out his summoning jutsu as a puff of smoke appears. Pakkun appears as the smoke clears, stretching his stiff legs, "Yo, 'Kashi…" he pauses mid sentence when the familiar scent of an Uchiha reaches his nose. "Um… care to explain pup," he states jumping next to the copy-nin, ready to attack.

"Relax old friend, he's with us," Kakashi eye's him carefully as he increases his distance. _For now anyways… _He shifts his eyes back to his summon, "I need you to find an old scent for us."

Pakkun eyes his master carefully. "'Kashi," he says bearly audible, "There are others more suited from the pack. While I'd be happy to lead you, Narut…" He cocks his head to the side at Kakashi's silent command with his fist.

"I can't explain why, I just need you to trust me right now." Kakashi smiles slightly behind his mask and steps after his former ANBU partner. "They'll find us in due time."

Pakkun follows in his steps with a sigh, "I hope you're right about this one pup."

Kakashi spares a glance back to the pug as he shoves his hands in his pockets, relaxing his shoulders in their normal position, "My team will come, especially with Naruto leading." He shifts his gaze back to the Uchiha, lifting his headband above his sharingan eye, "Besides, I'll be needing another pair of eyes."

Pakkun catches up with the jonin's pace, glancing back up to him again, "For what, the Uchiha?" The pug twitches nervously as he moves his eyes to the Akatsuki member.

The copy-nin nods once in response, "It's not Itachi that worries me. I need eyes on me."

Pakkun stops in his tracks with a sigh, mumbling to himself. _I hope this isn't going to be to troublesome, pup. _He shakes free of his thoughts, leaping up to Kakashi's right shoulder.

-o-

A soft, almost comforting warm feeling awakes Rin from her deep sleep. She opens her eyes to darkness, rubbing them furiously to try and awaken any sort of light. She let's out a sigh, _Damn it, still nothing. _ Pushing herself up to a sitting position, she notices a liquid substance shift with each movement. Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath before opening them once more, staring straight ahead. A small light begins to flicker, like a small ember straining for life. Rising to her feet, she shifts her legs uncomfortably closer to the dimming light.

"So you've finally come to see me."

Rin's blood froze in her veins as his voice broke the silence. The light she was walking towards flickered to nothing as a wall of darkness over took the room once more. "Who are you," she asked, her voice betraying her willingness to be strong and courageous.

The light comes to life once more in the shape of a single eye, an animalistic eye. "You know who I am. We meet once before, so many years ago." He whispers the words, letting them linger in the air. He watches with delight as the girl shivers where she stands, radiating a sense of fear. "I've been keeping you alive all this time, through all the pain and suffering."

The kunoichi clenches her hands tightly, summoning up the courage to at least stare down the eye before her. "How? Minato-sensei sealed you away. The only way I could be here with you is if I am dead or sealed away as well!" The Kyuubi's roaring laughter silenced her speech and confidence.

"Foolish girl! You would still be dead if they didn't mold me to your corpse." He stares down the medic as she begins to interrupt, "Wrong!" He roars once more, "Do you think a simple seal could contain my entire being?"

Rin swallowed hard, her eyes widening as the fox softly illuminates the room. "But, you were sealed within Minato-sensei's child. Why am I here?" The fox slams a fiery, boiling paw outside his cage, inches from the girl. The medic throws her arms up around her face as wave of heat overcomes her and the room, filling the room with light. Slowly lowering her arms, she looks intently at the beast sealed within.

The Kyuubi glares on, his intense, evil aura taking over the room. He lowers his head down to Rin's level, taking in her frail form. "Perhaps we can strike a deal, eh?" He licks his lips hungrily, "Release this seal, we'll destroy the one who's hurt you. I promise."

The small kunoichi stares down the spirit with a strong resolve, "I am a medic, baka! I have no desire to kill another!" Her words are met with another roar of laughter's from the fox. "Why do you find this so entertaining?" She slams a foot into the watery ground out of frustration.

The fox recoils slowly back into his prison, letting the brightened room begin to fade. The fox's words are barely a whisper but carry a wicked, cunning tone, "Don't you want to see _him _again?" He smirks to himself wickedly; _I knew that one would work._ He bites back a smile at her sudden discomfort and dilemma.

"H- How do you know about him?" her voice betrays her yet again, shaking and weak. Her mind races over his words, nervous and scared.

A sound somewhere between a sigh and snort is heard from the Kyuubi's den; "Depends which sharingan user are we talking about?" He glances back towards the girl, a large smug look painted across his lips.

Rin staggers forward towards the cage, her eyes glazed over. _Itachi, Kakashi…_ Both men were huge influences in her life. _Well, former life._ She clenches her fists once more, moving towards the cage with a new resolve. The fox watches her approach, studying her body language intently. "Tell me first," she locks eyes with the spirit. "Are they both alive?" The fox remains silent for a moment, his grin overwhelming his facial features.

"Yes, child, both are among the living; however…" he pauses, baiting the medic further. "One is on the verge of death." The fox leans closer towards the girl carefully studying her frantic emotions take over. _To easy… _Rin lowers her head down to her chest, her hair flowing down around her face and hiding her eyes.

"Alright."

The fox raises an eyebrow at the medic, "in what…" he states, knowing that she needs to be the one in control. _Or so she will think…_

Rin slowly starts to raise her head back up to level with the kyuubi; "We save them first. They I'll tear down this seal." The fox grins as he extends his paw through the bar.

"Accepted." Rin hesitantly, rests her hand on top of his. A loud, booming laugh is heard through out the room as a sudden wave of fire starts to evaporate the water from the floor. The steam increases the feeling of the room to a wicked and heated malice, swirling around the fox and the kunoichi. Rin let's out a terrifying scream as her eyes start to shift to match the fox's own. "Now, let's get started then, shall we?"

Rin falls to her knees before collapsing face first before the fox, darkness starting to take over her vision. She tries to control her breathing, only to find every breath to fuel the pain over and over again. The fox's laughter ringing through out the room is the last thing she hears as she happily accepts the invitation for the sweet and calming refuge of unconsciousness.


	10. Secrets  Author's Note

Author's Note:

Sorry for such a delay! Quite a few unexpected events came up and really changed directions for me. Between moving, promotion at work and just other things on top of it all, I've been quite busy! I haven't forgotten about this story, if anything this "break" has given me time to plan a bit more since I didn't have the time to write full chapters. =) I hope to have this chapter up within the next few days then I should be back on track to shoot for weekly updates.

Thank you all for your patience and story/author adds and reviews! More to come!

Take care!

-Khami


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